Trimming and edging around a conventional lawn sprinkler head is often a time-consuming and tedious task. The grass surrounding the sprinkler head is often thick and tends to grow over the sprinkler head. Constant edging is required to permit the sprinkler to operate properly. Traditionally, this work by the landscaper or gardener must be performed by hand or using a device such as a Weed Eater.TM.. Hand edging is tedious and wholly impractical when a large number of sprinkler heads are involved. Conventional power trimmers often do not provide a neat and precise cut. Moreover, these types of trimming devices do not satisfactorily edge around the sprinkler head.
The Weed Eater.TM. device exhibits a number of other disadvantages when used to trim around sprinkler heads. Its motor usually must be started before the trimmer is positioned adjacent the head. Otherwise, the device is not powerful enough to start against the resistance of the turf. Moreover, the standard trimmer is quite long and must be held away from the body. The user is therefore unable to apply downward force to the trimmer to aid in cutting. Conventional "fishing line" type trimmers tend to bounce over the thick grass, which often surrounds sprinkler heads. These type of cutters also tend to scar the head and other objects.
Rotary cutters have been developed specifically for edging around sprinkler heads. However, most of these devices are manually operated and using them requires considerable time, effort and exertion. Certain known devices have utilized a rotary blade that is releasably attached to a power drill. However, using these types of devices is inconvenient because the landscaper must normally bend or kneel over each sprinkler head to perform the required edging and trimming. Most known sprinkler head cutters also employ a multiple piece and rather flimsy construction. Today, these known devices do not trim and edge around the sprinkler head in an optimally quick and effective manner.